On Monday, a federal court in Texas, which has a track record of issuing rulings in favor of conservative viewpoints, ruled in favor of the Biden administration in a case that challenged a new student loan rule introduced by the Education Department.
The court found that the lawsuit was not properly filed in Texas and therefore lacked jurisdiction over the case, Fox News reported.
Mark Pittman, a U.S. District Judge appointed by former President Donald Trump, has concurred with the Justice Department’s argument that a lawsuit against new regulations for the Education Department’s borrower defense to repayment program should be relocated to the Western District of Texas in Austin.
In doing so, the case will be transferred from the Northern District of Texas, which is predominantly composed of judges appointed by Republicans, the report added.
The Northern District of Texas has seen a flurry of high-profile cases challenging President Biden’s policies. Critics have accused conservative groups of forum shopping for favorable rulings by filing these cases in the district.
The Biden Justice Department has gone as far as to accuse Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of “judge shopping” by filing cases against various administration policies in this particular district, but of course, liberal groups do the same thing.
The Career Colleges & Schools of Texas (CCST), a trade association that represents over 70 for-profit higher education institutions in Texas, is attempting to prevent the Department of Education from implementing a revised program that absolves student loans in cases where a college deceives or defrauds borrowers. CCST claims that the new regulations, scheduled to come into effect on July 1, are illegal and could pose a severe financial risk to its member institutions by creating a “crippling liability,” Fox News noted.
Despite having no offices or employees in the Fort Worth division of the Northern District court, the CCST filed the case there. Moreover, none of its member institutions that are based in that district are involved in the lawsuit, the news outlet noted.
Pittman dismissed CCST’s claim that his court should oversee the lawsuit, stating that the group, despite its interest in aiding affected parties in the division, has no physical presence in the area. In a six-page ruling, he asserted that the venue for the lawsuit was unsuitable.
The Justice Department urged for the case to be transferred either to Austin, where CCST is based or to the federal district court in Washington, D.C. However, Judge Pittman concluded that the Western District of Texas is a “more appropriate” venue “affords some ‘respect’ to Plaintiff’s original choice of forum — even though it was an incorrect one.”
Many conservative organizations choose to file their federal lawsuits against the Biden administration in the Northern District of Texas.
Pittman prevented the implementation of the Biden administration’s student loan debt relief program, which aimed to absolve $10,000 in federal student loans per borrower. Additionally, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas issued a controversial decision to stop the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, which has been in effect for over 20 years.
The two cases have now been taken up by the Supreme Court, Fox News added.
